Armada
by ChoNeun
Summary: The shadows have broken out into an all-out war against humans. The Goddesses have left behind darkness and despair. Humans are slowly turning against each other. In this crazed world, who will survive?
1. 00 - The Teaser

"Alright, kid. Just take it from the top, kid."

He wasn't a kid. There was just a three-year gap between them—if that, but that's not what he was here for. He wrung his hands together nervously, not wanting to replay the events. They were already so vivid in his mind, but to retell the tale? That was just too much. The silver haired lifted his head, looking to his partner at the window.

"Minato, get away from that thing and c'mere. We've gotta stay low until the others get back."

The shorthaired male quietly lowered his hand, slipping them both into his pockets as he came to join the others. He stood in front of the sofa across from the other two males. The youngest male's eyes widened slightly. This guy, this _Minato_, had one white eye and a visible scar snaking up the left side of his neck.

"What happened?" the two simultaneously asked, Minato sitting down.

The odd-eyed male brought his gaze up slightly. The younger pressed his lips together and tilted his gaze down.

"Right." He sighed softly, hands once again pressing together. "It started with Yosuke—he had been having trouble the last couple of days. He said there were these guys coming around, bothering him pretty badly."

"Did he say what these guys looked like?"

"One; he just said that he was a taller guy." Souji brought his hand up high on his forehead, rubbing the side of his hand against it. "Really short bangs."

Akihiko looked to Minato, who shook his head and shrugged. They both gave their attention back to the other male.

"I didn't ignore him; I mean, we've been dealing with this for about half a year now—I mean, frequently. So I had his back. I…" He reached a hand up, rubbing his shoulder. "I stayed with him for a little while. I told my uncle I was going out, so he bunkered down the house. My cousin… little sister, was there, so I guess she's still safe." He paused and lowered his head, shaking it slightly. "Anyway, Yosuke… Everything seemed fine for a while. He went to work, called me if he needed anything; sometimes I went along, or I'd meet up with our friend Teddie."

"Teddie?" Akihiko asked, lifting his brows.

"It's a long story."

"No, I… I think I've heard that name before. He waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, continue."

"One day, Yosuke had to close the store, so I went along with him. During that time, Teddie came back from scouting, so I went to go pick him up from the station. I was going to drop him off at home and then head back to Junes. I was probably gone twenty minutes before…" He sighed deeply, leaning back against the couch.

"Take your time," Minato stated, gaze tipped down towards the table.

Souji nodded his head, continuing anyway. "I got a call… Or rather, I got a message. It was really noisy on the other side. All I could hear was 'Please, please' and then a gunshot. They shot him… Yosuke… but that wasn't it. I tried to call around, see who had saw him last, but I couldn't get a word out of anyone. I didn't go far before Teddie called me back, saying some strange guys came for me. He 'didn't like what was in the box', so I hurried back and…"

He and Akihiko looked to the left towards a corner of the room. Minato looked to his right. They all stared at the bloodied box.

"That's how I found him…"

"Did they ever say where the rest of him was?"

"I got another message, but I haven't read it."

"Don't. We'll need it later," Minato stated, standing up once again and heading back to the window.

Akihiko scoffed but chose not to say anything about it. "You hear anything from Fuuka or Rise?"  
"No. But I haven't heard my phone go off, so maybe they're busy," the blue haired replied, back turned to the seated duo.

"Maybe they're _all_ busy," Akihiko murmured, not liking the sound of it. The silver haired stood up and cracked his neck. "I'll go call 'em. You keep him company."

A noncommittal noise came from Minato. His muscled compatriot left, leaving the two alone. The blue-haired waited in silence for a long while until he looked over his shoulder.

"So," he began. "You're the newest recruit."

Souji sighed and closed his eyes. "I guess so."

Minato pulled his hand out of his pocket and pulled down on the blinds, looking to the dark outside again.

"Welcome to hell."


	2. 01 - Hazy Memories

Feet pounded against the pavement. A body slammed into the wall. Someone laughed. The group of kids ran past a ramen shop. A young boy, face scuffed up, motioned for his friends to follow him. Under the chain link and down the alley—they were going to their secret place. The giggling group ran right past him. His ash brown eyes followed the kids as they disappeared around another corner. He let out a sigh before he pushed away from the wall. He probably shouldn't sit here for much longer. He paid his respects long enough.

"I hope the Sun's a bit brighter where you are, Shinji…" Akihiko Sanada muttered, head tipping up towards the shadowy sky.

The Sun was up, but it was stuck behind that stupid veil of dark mist. Everyone got used to it over time, especially since the Goddess Nyx considered this the final overture of her temporary defeat. Yeah… They hadn't won yet, but shit, they came awfully close last time. And their consolation prize was this depressing shade over the blue skies, over the warm Sun. Well, it was better than absolute Death. Akihiko huffed through his nose and lowered his gaze.

It was _a lot_ better than Death, actually. Unfortunately, they had a lot of causalities on the way, and one _major_ close call during the battle itself, but. It all worked out. Sort of.

There was a siren wailing as he approached the street. He turned his head slightly to the left, seeing the emergency vehicle blazing down the road. The silver haired male took a couple of small steps back, whipping his head to the other side as the vehicle flew past. He lifted his brows slightly and huffed softly.

"What's the rush?" he muttered to himself.

"I was just wondering the same thing."

The voice sounded familiar. He thought it was someone he knew—no, just a brunette with a bowl cut. She had wide eyes. They were actually pretty cute. She laughed, and he looked away, feeling embarrassed for staring.

"I guess it's a little weird, but considering everything, I wouldn't really worry about it much." Akihiko straightened his posture and looked towards where the emergency vehicle had gone off.

The girl hummed and turned her head as well. "Yeah, guess we shouldn't think too much about it." She shifted her weight and faced forward. "Guess we should be happy people are even willing to help anymore."

He nodded his head. "Yeah, that's enough."

The two stepped forward, looked to each other, and then laughed.

"Guess we're going the same way," they said in unison.

They perked slightly and shared another laugh. Too bad they couldn't hold a conversation for very long. She turned the first corner they came around, and he kept on straight. He needed to catch the train and head back towards his friends. What a long trip. He wouldn't have anything to take his mind off of it either. Great. As he made the trek back towards the station, he decided to jog and make a challenge of passing as many bystanders as he could without touching them or being touched. It was easy at first; ten or fifteen people passed by before he ran into a guy wider than him or a pack of schoolgirls. Shit, school… He remembered those days, which weren't _too_ far behind him, but still. It all just felt like a distant memory. After shaking himself of that, he started his challenge over again. This time, when he ran into someone, neither of them were really expecting it.

"Hey, hey. Watch where you're going!"

"Oh sorry. I was…"

They looked to each other. The university student adjusted his cap, blinking up at the taller male.

"Junpei!?"

"Hey, Akihiko. Didn't think I'd see you around here again." The brunet grinned, setting his hands on his hips.

"What're you doing here?"

"I was out to meet my girlfriend!"

Akihiko scoffed. Junpei tipped his head at the noise.

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Hey, it's possible!"

"Not with those lame pickup lines."

"Whatever, man. Hey, I'm actually a bit early. Wanna hang out for a bit?"

"I have to…" Akihiko trailed off, hand lowering. "You know what? That's not a bad idea."

"Atta boy!" C'mon, let's go before the train stops up again."

"Is that what they say happens?" Akihiko mumbled.

Junpei chuckled and adjusted his hat. Well, at least now Akihiko didn't have to worry about how he was going to pass the time. He mostly talked with Junpei when they got on board, catching up on the couple of years that have passed between them. Akihiko humbly retold about his fourteen-day exploration in the woods. Soon he got really into the tale and stood up, punching the air to emphasize his point. When he realized a few more pairs of eyes were on him, the boxer soon sat down, slightly slumping down in his seat. Junpei laughed, crossing his legs.

"You haven't changed a bit."

The embarrassed boxer lifted his short brows. "Heh. I take it that's a good thing."

A nod. "Yeah. Really good."

There was a bit of solemnity in Junpei's voice, despite the smile. They met each other's gaze. The brunet turned his head and looked out the window, watching the buildings pass by. Akihiko watched him for a few moments. "Junpei—" The train stopped. They both looked up to the electronic marquee. Junpei stood up with a sigh.

"Guess this is our stop. C'mon."

"Ah, yeah…"

They exited the train and headed down the stairs with a group full of other people. Akihiko temporarily lost his friend in the crowd until he heard the student call for him. They went down to the benches surrounding a plant centerpiece in the center of the courtyard. They both sighed, getting into comfortable positions for themselves.

"So I guess you're still talking to him," Junpei began, turning his head towards the boxer.

"Hi—oh yeah." He chuckled. "Yeah, we're still talking. He's actually still playing Leader."

"I figured as much. Guess I'll never see him in University."

"I think school's the last thing on his mind."

Junpei tipped his head down, rubbing his thighs for a few moments. "Yeah, I can understand. I'm surprised I made it this far…"

"How's school for you?"

"Oh yeah! We never talked about it." Junpei grinned again, leaning back this time. "Check it out. I'm a third year. I'm gonna graduate on time next year."

"Congratulations."

"I mean, I'm not graduating at the top of my class or anything. I'll save that for you and Mitsuru. Have you talked to…"

Akihiko shook his head. "Haven't heard from her in a couple of months."

"That's too bad."

Another brief silence passed between the two of them. Akihiko was the one to speak up this time.

"So everything's going well for you, huh?"

Junpei sighed with a smile on his face. "Yeah, you could say that."

"You know, it's been a couple of years… Some time has passed, and that Mist is still there… I'm not asking you to join us or anything, but why don't you come around and say hey. I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

"About that, about _him_…" Junpei frowned. "How is he? I'm surprised he even made it out alive, but…"

"He's alright, but he doesn't like… being around other people outside of us anymore. Us 'gifted ones'."

"I see." Junpei reached up and scratched the side of his face. "I can't say that I'm ready to get in the fray just yet, but if anything happens, just let me know alright. Here."

He stood up to pull his phone out of his pocket. Akihiko tipped his body to the side to pull his phone from his slacks.

"Junpei! You're early."

Both males brought their gaze up to the newcomer. She was a pretty girl with heavy curls in her hair. Her hair was split dyed, one side blonde and the other brown. Though she was very carefully made up on her face, the rest of her said casual—an off the shoulder top and form fitting pants. She wasn't as immaculately put together as… Wow, it had been so long. Akihiko didn't even remember _her_ name anymore, that emotionless Lolita.

"Akihiko, this is Koumi. Koumi, this is my _senpai_."

"Jeez, now you're calling me '_senpai_' again?"

Junpei grinned. "Just for old times."

The female leaned forward slightly, playfully kicking up her leg as she used Junpei's arm for support. "Nice to meet you, _senpai_."

"Nice to meet you too."

"Here, let's exchange numbers," Junpei interjected, holding his phone out.

Akihiko slid his open. They waited the few seconds it took to exchange information between their phones. The brunet lifted his mobile and nodded his head, flipping it closed.

"Great." He brought his arm up, bent at the elbow. "If you need anything, give me a ring okay?"

Akihiko brought up his arm too, touching his forearm to Junpei's. "Sure thing."

"I'm serious. Don't hesitate."

"I won't. Count on it."

"I will." The student gave his usual smile before giving his attention to his girlfriend. "Come on, babe. Let's go."

"What's with all that 'call me' stuff? You some kind of superhero or something?" she teased.

Junpei smirked and looked to Akihiko. "Nah, nothing like that."

The two left the silver haired on his own. Akihiko watched them leave and then headed back up the stairs. He vaguely knew where he was right now, and it couldn't have been too far from where he needed to go. He hoped on the train and looked at the overhead map. Two hours back to Yokudaishima. Great, now he had nothing to take his mind off the long trip.

Ah, oh well.


End file.
